The Internet consists of a network of interconnected computer networks. Each of these computers has an Internet Protocol (IP) address that is comprised of a series of four numbers (or octets) separated by periods or dots, wherein each of these four numbers is an 8-bit integer which collectively represent the unique address of the computer within the Internet. The Internet is a packet switching network whereby a data file routed over the Internet to some destination is broken down into a number of packets that are separately transmitted to the destination. Each packet contains, inter alia, some portion of the data file and the IP address of the destination.
The IP address of a destination is useful in routing packets to the correct destination, but it is not very people friendly. In particular, a group of four 8-bit numbers by themselves do not reveal or suggest anything about the destination, and most people would likely find it difficult to remember the IP addresses of a destination. As a result of this shortcoming in just using IP addresses, domain names were created.
Domain names consist of two or more parts, frequently words, separated by periods. Since the words, numbers, or other symbols forming a domain name often indicate or at least suggest the identity of a destination and are more easily remembered than the IP address, domain names have become the standard way of entering an address.
After a domain name has been entered, a domain name server (DNS) resolves the domain name into a specific IP address. Thus, for example, when someone surfing the Internet enters into a browser program a particular domain name for a web site, the browser first queries the DNS to arrive at the proper IP address.
While the IP address works well to deliver packets to the correct address on the Internet, IP addresses do not convey any useful information about the geographic address of the destination. Furthermore, the domain names do not even necessarily indicate any geographic location, though sometimes they may suggest, correctly or incorrectly, such a location.
Systems have been developed that enable entities, such as advertising networks, web publishers, search engines, social networks, e-tailers, and/or the like, who find it useful to know a user's geographic location, to derive the user's location from his/her IP address. These entities may then use this information for a variety of applications including, for example, delivering geo-targeted advertisements, localizing online storefronts, controlling the distribution of online content or goods, and/or the like. An example of such a system is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,757,740, entitled “Systems and Methods for Determining Collecting and Using Geographic Locations of Internet Users” (“the '740 patent”), which is commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The techniques of the '740 patent are discussed in more detail below.
As marketers and other entities continue to embrace the value that IP intelligence (i.e., geographic information derived from IP addresses) brings to online endeavors, however, they are also demanding more granularity. In particular, while country-level location information may have been sufficient before, greater depth and accuracy of location information is gradually becoming more and more desired in order to enable companies to build a true one-to-one relationship with a growing online audience.
This desire for more granular and accurate geographic location information associated with users is countered, however, by the privacy concerns of those users who may not want their name and address linked to their IP address and subsequently used, for example, for advertising purposes. In fact, communication of such user-specific information may violate various privacy laws in place in different countries.
A need, therefore, exists for a technique for obtaining more specific geographic information associated with an IP address without violating any privacy issues.